Steel industry’s short range outlook

The WSA (World Steel Association) released its short range outlook for the steel industry. It’s the global body of major steel producers. It represents 170 steel producers. The WSA’s members represent almost 85% of global steel production. It provides a short range outlook for the steel industry twice a year. The data is provided by the World Steel Committee on Economic Studies. The previous outlook was released in October last year, after the association’s annual meeting—held in Moscow.

Why is it important?

The data released by the WSA is keenly analyzed by investors in steel companies. It provides crucial insights into the state of the global steel industry. The WSA releases the steel consumption forecast for major steel-consuming regions. China (FXI), the US, Europe, and India (EPI) are among the major steel-consuming regions. Steel demand in these regions is a key driver of the global steel industry.

Investors in steel companies like ArcelorMittal (MT), US Steel (X), and AK Steel (AKS) should watch the trend in global steel demand. Steel companies’ share price corrected sharply since October last year. This can be seen in the above chart.

What do we cover?

In this series, we’ll analyze the WSA’s short range outlook. We’ll also compare the current outlook with the one released last year. Along with the steel consumption forecast, we’ll learn how steel production moved, so far, in 2015. We’ll also discuss some other recent developments that impact the global steel industry.